


Strawberry Avalanche

by cat-in-the-pines (penultimate_antithesis)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Apprentice is not named, Day At The Beach, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, POV Second Person, Picnics, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sandcastles, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 14:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20292682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penultimate_antithesis/pseuds/cat-in-the-pines
Summary: Surprisingly, for all Portia spoke about wanting to get away and see far off places, it had taken months to convince her to actually take a break. In the end, you had to get both Nadia and Doctor Satrinava to tell her that she wasn’t allowed back at the animal sanctuary for the next week, at the very least, before she finally gave in. Still, maybe it was a good thing it took so long to convince your amazingly hardworking girlfriend to run away with you since it gave you all the time you needed to find and repair your personal gate.When you told Portia about wanting to show her the nicer sides of the realm of magic, her face lit up brighter than the sun. When you showed Portia the beach you had constructed off of her and Julian’s descriptions of Nevivon, well, her smile rivaled the shines of all the stars in all the galaxies combined.





	Strawberry Avalanche

“Alright,” Portia said, closing the door to her house while wrangling a wriggly Pepi. “That’s finally everything. Well, everything that matters, anyway.”

“Are you sure?” You teased, smiling. “Do you want to check a third time?”

She rolled her eyes. You rested your hand against the door, ready to make the magical seals for safety.

“Well, let’s see...” She pretended to think about it for a second. “Nope! I’ve got Pepi and I’ve got you, so I know I’ve got the essentials covered.”

This was yet another moment where you wished it wasn’t so easy for Portia to make you blush. You grabbed your picnic basket, and the two of you headed out into the city to meet Asra at the magic shop. It had taken some wheedling on your part, but you had finally gotten him to agree to teach you both how to take your bodies with you into the realms, after he made you promise to stay within your personal gate. It was a beautiful day, but Portia seemed to be in a rush to get to the shop out of excitement, so you both made it there in record time. He greeted you at the door, Faust in tow.

“MC, Portia, hello!” he said, as Faust booped snoots with Pepi. He inclined his head. “And Pepi as well. I have everything ready, even if I’m not sure this is the safest idea.”

“Asra, we’ll be fine. We’re only going to my personal gate, and we’re only spending a few hours there.” You appreciated his concern, but all adventure involved a little risk.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep them safe!” Portia winked at Asra, and the three of you headed into the back room where the ritual was set up.

After a hop, a skip, and a jump, you were finally there. If you had any doubts about this trip, they dissolved the second you saw Portia’s face. Her face was brighter than the sun, and her eyes looked at the vibrant world around her with so much wonder that it took your breath away. She was always beautiful, but her smile at that moment made you realize why so many people wrote about love in terms of giving anything to see the other person smile. You couldn’t look away.

She was asking you a million questions, but your mind was still lost in thinking about how much you loved her, so your responses were distracted at best. Eventually, you shook yourself back out of it and threw yourself at her in a spontaneous hug. She laughed.

“Have I ever told you just how much I love you?” You asked, and it was her turn to blush.

“Maybe, but I love hearing it anyways.”

Pepi let out a little pip noise from her squashed position between the two of you, which was your cue to separate and give her some air. It also gave you a chance to look around at the spot you had landed in after jumping through your gate. Through the swirling colors and misty forest, you spotted the bit of sunshine that you’d worked so hard to create. You pointed it out to Portia, who started dragging you along towards it, stopping every few seconds to look at the strange flowers, mushrooms, and beetles that lined the forest floor. You didn’t mind. Any time spent holding Portia’s hand and laughing with her was time well spent. Even if you both somehow turned a fifteen minute trip into a two-hour journey.

When you got close enough to start seeing little details, you covered her eyes and led her the last several steps. She fake-grumbled about it, but her mischievous smile gave her away, and you knew she was as excited for this surprise as you were. Finally, you reached the beach. You dropped your hand from her eyes and she gasped, grasping your arm.

“Oh, MC...” She said, her eyes misting up a bit. “Did you make this for me?”

You were standing on as close as you could get to a replica of a Nevivon beach without your having ever actually seen one. You had heard about them from Portia many times, of course, which is what gave you the idea to try and recreate one within your personal gate. You’d also spent hours talking with Julian about all of his memories, and he was all too willing to talk when he knew your plan. His vivid storytelling was an amazing help.

The air was cool, with a warm breeze coming in off the ocean. The sand was rainbow-colored under your feet, which was the only thing you somehow couldn’t get to change. Some residual effects of being in a magic realm were bound to stay, you guessed. The waves were gentle, but the noise of them was still loud enough to be soothing. The water looked dark but inviting, and shells were littered along the water’s edge. Everything smelled like salt and that particular smell which can only be described as “ocean”.

Portia looked around, taking it all in, then she looked at you again like you hung all the stars in the sky. When she spoke again her voice was soft.

“Thank you.” She said.

“I... You’re welcome.” You replied, faltering a little under the intensity of her gaze.

“This- is- so- cool!” She said, pausing between each word to press a kiss to your lips.

The moment moved back into the realm of lighthearted, and the two of you set down your things in a nice spot and left Pepi to luxuriate in the sun. Portia raced you down the beach, almost skipping into the water. You both took a moment to let the water wash over your feet, and then Portia headed further into the water, whooping. You jumped in after her and a splash fight of epic proportions began.

“Do you surrender?” She asked after a well-timed splash hit you head-on.

“Me? Never!” You replied, summoning a small wave and knocking her back a few feet. “How about you?”

“Ha! As if,” She said, peering back at the shore. “Oh, no! I think Pepi found the sandwiches!”

“Call it a draw?” You asked, then you both looked at each other and broke down into giggles.

You made it back to the picnic basket just in time to salvage two sandwiches from Pepi’s destruction and then sat down to eat together. You sat side-by-side, letting the sun’s rays dry you off. The conversation was light and casual, and after a while you found yourself laying back, almost dozing. Portia flopped back with you and you both turned your heads to look at each other. You spent a while just looking into each other’s eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful, and you told her so. She groaned and called you corny, but smiled anyway. You both started to lean in, and... Pepi smooshed her butt in between your faces, which started you both up laughing again.

It seemed like too much effort to actually get up and go exploring some more, so you shifted over and just started cuddling them both instead. After a little while, though, you could tell that Portia was getting restless. You sat up, and she rolled over onto her stomach.

“Hey, wanna build a sandcastle for Pepi?” She asked after a moment. You paused, then shrugged.

“Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sandcastle. Or I don’t remember one, anyway.” You replied, causing her to gasp.

“MC, you’ve never built a sandcastle? We need to fix that right away!”

She leaped up and headed to an area with more damp sand. You rolled your eyes and smiled affectionately. Then you pulled yourself up and followed her. She started to gather sand towards herself in a pile, and you squatted down next to her to watch. You nodded along seriously to all her dramatic teaching, then formed a small sand-pile of your own, which was clearly a castle, thank-you-very-much. You even found a small piece of driftwood to use as a flagpole.  
Portia disagreed that your pile could be considered a true sandcastle, but relented when you huffed about a lack of proper tools to build with. Meanwhile, Pepi strolled over and circled around both of your castles, eyeing them appraisingly. You took it as a victory when she chose yours to smoosh first.

“Asra’s probably worried by now.” You sighed out, looking out over the sea.

The sun had started setting over the horizon, and you both knew it was time to start heading back. Still, neither of you were in any real hurry as you packed everything back up and headed back into the forest. Everything was soft and calm and nice, and you felt as though all your stresses had faded away. You only hoped Portia felt the same way. She certainly deserved it.

Asra was waiting for you all back at the shop. You waved off all his concerns since nothing bad had happened, and after thanking him profusely, you headed out on your way back home. The city was bathed in golden light, and Portia was waving to all the people she knew who were walking along your way. Looking at her now, you could see from the set of her shoulders how much more relaxed she was. You grabbed her hand squeezed it, and she looked at you and beamed as she walked.

Eventually, you made it back to the door of your shared home. Portia stopped you with a kiss before you touched the door. Carefully, she traced the sequence needed to release the runes. Then she turned to you.

“You know...” She said, running her hands over your shoulders and resting them on your chest. “I never did get to really thank you for this vacation.”

“Oh, that’s uh, that’s not- I mean,” You flushed, smiled, then leaned in further. “How would you like to thank me, then?”

“Hm, I’m sure I’ll think of something.” She hummed with her mischievous grin back at full force. “After all, we’ve got all week.”

And whatever the two of you did once you headed inside is between the two of you and the two of you only (and Pepi, who didn’t watch).

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope this satisfied a fluffy indulgence urge within you because I smiled the entire time I was writing it. Also, I will love you forever if you know where the title came from. And I'll love you double if you comment, but only if you want! It feeds the validation beast within, y'know.


End file.
